[Schultzy]

Mr. Buffett, like a lot of people, mischaracterizes gold as an investment. It is not. Gold is a store of wealth, not a tool realizing future gains (although that may happen). It is disingenuous to compare gold to stocks, or even to farmland as Buffett does. When you buy land, it doesn't miraculously produce crops (wealth) for you, you must input labor and resources (money) first.

I know this is nothing new, but investing in yourself through education is far and away the best investment out there. Governments, thieves, natural disasters and who knows what else can seize or destroy your stocks, bonds, gold, and land, but they can never touch your knowledge and experience. Even if you loose all of your possessions, you can use what you know to reacquire them. If the goal is "preserve AND grow" wealth, educating yourself is the best investment.

[zecho]

The labor part is his whole point. Gold has little to no utility ("...some industrial and decorative utility"), but land can be used to build more wealth ("A century from now the 400 million acres of farmland will have produced staggering amounts of corn, wheat, cotton, and other crops").

He absolutely prefers actual production over mere investment in trends. "More succinctly, investing is forgoing consumption now in order to have the ability to consume more at a later date." This whole philosophy is at the heart of nearly all of his letters to investors and other writings.